Madison selected for stop on advanced technology, innovation tour

Excerpted from Wisconsin State JournalBy Karen Rivedal

Madison for two days next week will host an international delegation featuring nearly 50 foreign trade and innovation ministers from 28 countries as a stop on the third Americas Competitiveness Exchange Tour, a week-long event designed to feature a selection of Midwestern centers of innovation and entrepreneurship.

Organized by the U.S. Economic Development Administration and other partners, the tour is aimed at setting up opportunities to establish long-term global and regional partnerships and to see the results of initiatives that are strengthening innovation and entrepreneurship.
In Madison, the tour will include presentations Tuesday at the Edgewater Hotel with featured speakers including Paul Jadin, president of Madison Region Economic Partnership, and Matt Erskine, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development.

“This is an extraordinary opportunity to feature Madison and its many academic, innovation and industry assets to a prominent foreign delegation,” Jadin said in a news release. “Being selected for the ACE tour points to the region’s global recognition as a leader in technology and innovation that invites international exchange.”

The delegation on Wednesday will tour Epic Systems Corp., UW Center for Dairy Research, Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, and University Research Park, followed by a community networking reception from 6:15 to 7:45 p.m. back at the Edgewater Hotel.